R. Shalom Isaac Mizrachi (Divrei Shalom Responsa YD 9) was asked a question: If a person slaughtered an animal but did not cover the blood, is the meat of the animal permitted to be eaten? He begins his answer quoting the Shulchan Arukh, who says there is a mitzvah to cover the blood (based on Vayikra 17:13), and the Rama who says that mitzvah is separate from the valid slaughtering which is still good even if he deliberately did not cover the blood. more

Rabbi Moshe Taragin, in an interesting essay entitled, “A Desert Gift” [vbm.org/Shavuot], writes an interesting thesis on the importance of the venue of the desert for the revelation at Mt. Sinai. One series of very perceptive observations caught my attention and I wish to share them with you. Quoting from the Midrash Bamidbar 1:1, Rabi Taragin cites the following: “Whoever does not transform himself into hefker as a desert cannot acquire the inner wisdom of Torah.” more

After the Torah describes the order and population of how the Israelites traveled in the desert, we are told of how the tribe of Levi was not counted with everyone else, nor did they travel amongst the people. Their camp was around the Mishkan, and their jobs focused on breaking down, carrying and reconstructing the Mishkan as per the travels of the nation. more

Seems like I was just writing my last article about my impending cruise and here I am back on my computer in my den…a far cry from the 4,000 passenger cruise liner I was on. For those of you who were never on a cruise ship, there are a variety of cabins you can choose from, the best being suites, then balcony cabins followed by cabins with portholes you can view the ocean through, and, finally, the “inside” cabin, with no sign of daylight, along with no room to move around in. more

With the counting of Sefirah just about to end, the festival of Shavuot commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai can not be too far behind. In fact the observance of this briefest of holidays is the exact culmination of the Sefirah count and the climax of the historic link between Pesach, the Exodus, and Shavuot and the giving of the Torah. more

Palestinian Arabs have concentrated many of their terrorist attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, hoping to win the city by an onslaught of terror, who seek to make life in the City of Peace unbearable. But this is not a new tactic. Arab strategy to turn Jerusalem into a battleground began in 1920. more

Yom Yerushalayim celebrates that wonderful day during the Six-Day War when the IDF liberated the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount was returned to the Jewish people There is another story about the unification of Jerusalem that most don’t talk about. But it’s important to remember on Yom Yerushalayim that if it were not for the progressive hubris of the man considered to be the hero of Jerusalem’s liberation, Moshe Dayan, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount would not be the issue it is today. more

The Torah gives three examples of “Your brother becoming impoverished.” (V’khi yamukh achikha). The first has to do with selling family property, and how it returns to the original owners at the Jubilee year. The second and third examples deal with a case where he cannot sustain himself and is relying on community assistance (25:35-38), or even needs to be sold into slavery to support himself (25:39-42), respectively. more

One of the thornier, daily halachic problems is that of which bracha (blessing) to recite on a particular food. Not too surprisingly, a vast literature has been created by our poskim (halachic decisors) that contains a plethora of opinions and approaches regarding every questionable item. more

Ir David, the City of David, the name of the area beyond the southern edge of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, is fast becoming one of the most visited historic sites in Jerusalem, thus warranting discussion this week upon the annual observance of Yom Yerushalayim. Ir David is the original hill top upon which was established the ancient unified capital of the Jewish nation by King David over 3000 years ago. more